Saudi Arabia (71st) has improved its prosperity more than any country in the MENA region, rising 14 ranks in 10 years, with greater tolerance towards immigrants and ethnic minorities, according to the latest Legatum Prosperity Index published on Monday.

Despite this improvement, the kingdom still ranks in the bottom 10 for personal freedom, the report said.

The prosperity index, in its 13th year, is an initiative by Legatum, a global private investment company, founded by New Zealand-born Christopher Chandler. The index assessed how well 167 countries promote the economic and social well-being of their residents in three domains: inclusive societies, open economies and empowered people.

In measuring the performance of the 167 countries more than 100 "experts" looked at "12 pillars", comprising 65 different elements, measured by 294 indicators, using publicly available data.

The kingdom scored particularly well in the open economies category, which includes enterprise conditions, markets access and infrastructure, economic quality and investment environment.

"The middle 90 countries of the Index, those that rank 40th to 130th and which contain 69 percent of the world’s population, is where the massive opportunity for developing prosperity exists. Without neglecting those at the bottom, and drawing on the lessons of the top 40, we are focused on improving prosperity in this grouping of countries," said Philippa Stroud, chief executive of Legatum Institute.

Denmark topped this year’s prosperity index, ranking in the top 10 for every pillar and for having the best living conditions. Norway was ranked in the second position followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Luxembourg and Iceland in the tenth position.

Of the 19 countries that experienced a deterioration in global prosperity over the past decade, 15 are in Sub-Saharan Africa or the Mena region, mainly due to geopolitical conflicts and civil unrest. Syria (157th), Yemen (166th) and Venezuela (143rd) have seen the greatest declines.

 

KEY FINDINGS FROM THIS YEAR’S REPORT ARE:

  • Global prosperity continues to improve, but the gap between the strongest and weakest performing countries continues to widen
  • The improvement in global prosperity has been driven by more open economies and improvements to people's lived experiences
  • Economies are more open due to the improvement in the investment environment and digital connectivity, as well as a reduction in administrative burdens
  • People's lived experiences have improved due to better health, education, and living conditions
  • Stagnating institutions are holding back further improvements to global prosperity
  • People are more tolerant, although there is less freedom to speak, associate, and assemble.

(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(seban.scaria@refinitiv.com)

© ZAWYA 2019